The prior art includes several devices that must somehow be attached to the leg of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,238 describes a lower limb muscle aid device in which an elastic strap is secured at one end around the foot of the wearer and at the other end around the leg of the wearer below the knee. U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,237 discloses a brace for supporting the foot of persons afflicted with various forms of paralysis. The purpose of this device is to provide additional support to the leg, ankle, and foot of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 2,847,991 discloses a drop foot brace having a rigid arch support plate for disposition beneath the foot of the wearer at one end and a U-shaped ankle support at the other end thereof. Like the '237 device, this device's purpose is to provide support to the leg, ankle and foot of the wearer. All of these devices require some means of attachment to the leg of the wearer. The prior art also includes ski boots, as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,313,046 and 4,382,342, which use adjustable webbing or cables to provide support to the foot and ankle of the skier. Because of the nature of ski boots, these devices clearly cannot facilitate the storage and release of tension created and released during a running cycle. There remains a need for an internally disposed system that will aid the wearer during the running cycle by preferentially storing and releasing the energy generated during the running cycle in a manner beneficial to the runner.